St. Louis, MO—May 18, 2021—In Candy Men: The History of Switzer’s Licorice, Patrick Murphy, former Nine PBS producer and announcer, tells the story of how the Murphy and Switzer families met, married, and made candies in St. Louis.
The documentary is based on the book of the same name. The book and related thank-you gifts will be available with Nine PBS membership during a special broadcast premiere on Thursday, June 10, 8 pm, with encore presentations on June 13, 2:30 pm, and June 19, 3:30 pm.
Candy Men: The History of Switzer’s Licorice is a story that celebrates St. Louis, resiliency, and the American Dream. It passes through three generations, two world wars, economic depressions, and labor unrest. The Murphys and the Switzers dedicated their lives to keeping the dream alive until it was put to an end by economic forces beyond their control. The company factory sat almost a century on Laclede’s Landing, but it was demolished in 2007 after a storm ravaged it. A new generation of Switzers is now at the helm, operating the Switzer Candy Company on Gore Avenue in Webster Groves.
Patrick Murphy’s great-grandfather, Joseph Murphy, cofounded the candy company with Frederick Michael Switzer in 1886. Murphy had fled Ireland in 1870 as a political refugee and married Fred’s sister Margaret.
The story begins in Kerry Patch, an Irish slum in St. Louis. Murphy spent his boyhood hearing family stories about the candy company, where his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather worked as candy men. His Uncle Fred told him stories about the family’s impoverished beginnings, discrimination, and life in the rough neighborhood north of downtown.
Although the title specifically mentions men, “It was my great-grandmother who had the idea of making candy in their tenement kitchen and selling it on the street,” Murphy told Gazelle Magazine in October 2020. “And most of the factory’s employees were women, even from the earliest days. ...They were the backbone of the union movement.”
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